Sealing means for adjustable louvres



June 16, 1959 H. R. PAINE, 2,890,503

SEALING MEANS FOR ADJUSTABLE LOUVRES Filed Nov. 4, 1957 HEDLEY R. PAINE INVENTOR WMAAAAPMA United States Patent SEALING MEANS FOR ADJUSTABLE LOUVRES Hedley R. Paine, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, as

sign'or to N. V. Appleton Pty. Ltd., Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Application November 4, 1957, Serial No. 694,363

Claims priority, application Australia November 7, 1956 Claims. (Cl. -63) This invention relates to improvements in and connected with adjustable lowvres. I v

In adjustable louvres having jambs or mullions to which louvre clips for engaging the ends of louvre blades are pivotally attached, wind driven rain may sometimes penetrate, and it is desirable to employ weather proofing means to reduce the ingress of moisture as far as possible. One form of weather proofing which has been found to be generally satisfactory is that which is described in the specification of our Australian Patent No. 157,060. In this prior construction each jamb or mullion is formed with longitudinal weather beads between pivots, and each channelled louvre clip pivoted to the mullion or jamb is formed with weather beads such that when the clip is closed, one of its weather beads lies behind, and the other in front of, a weather bead on the mullion or jamb.

It has been found that although this prior construction is effective in preventing ingress of moisture between the clips and the jambs or mullions, a certain amount of moisture may still penetrate the louvre assembly by passing between the blades and the clips which engage them.

The object of the present invention is to provide for the elimination as far as possible of moisture penetration through a closed louvre assembly and with this object in view the present invention is broadly characterised in that the clips of an adjustable louvre assembly are adapted to receive compressible and resilient members so as to be engaged between the ends of the louvre blades and the walls of the clips, and in that the clips are apertured to permit said members to protrude and form weather sealing means to engage the weather beads on the mullions or jarnbs.

Other objects and features of the invention will be evident from the following description of particular forms thereof. In this description reference is made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a mullion and one louvre blade and clips, the nearer mullion being removed for clarity of illustration and the louvre blade being partly open,

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view through the mullion and one louvre clip and blade, the blade being closed,

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing a portion of a sealing member,

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing a portion of a modified form of sealing member,

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 2 on a somewhat larger scale showing the sealing member of Figure 4 in position, and

Figures 6 and 7 are views similar to Figure 5 showing further modified constructions of sealing member.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings we provide a panel of louvres including a pair of mullions or jambs and a plurality of glass louvre blades. Only one mullion 11 is shown in the drawings the other mullion being removed to show the adjacent clip, and only one louvre blade 12 and two louvre clips 13 are shown, the others being all similar. Each mullion 11 is a channelshaped member having embossed pivot bearings 14 between and beyond which extend longitudinal weather beads 15. The weather beads 15 are formed by rolling a straight continuous ridge which'extends through the centres of the pivot bearings 14 to the ends of the mullion in a similar manner to that described in the said specification No. 157,060.

Each of the pivot bearings rotatably supports a pivot 16 to which a louvre clip 13 is secured. Each louvre clip is made of sheet metal and is in the form of a fairly deep channel adapted to engage one end of a louvre blade 12. A lower part of the rear web 17 of each clip, and an upper part of the front web 18 of each' clip, are cut away so that adjacent blades may engage in surface contact with each other, and the lower end 19 of the front web 18 of each clip is bent rearwardly at a right angle to provide a support for the blade. part of the rear web has a forwardly projecting flange 20 and is capable of being bent rearwardly to permit insertion of the blade and of being bent forwardly again to retain the blade in position.

In accordance with the invention each clip 13 is provided with slotted apertures 21 in the end faces 22. The apertures 21 are parallel to each other and slightly inclined to the front and rear webs 18 and 17 so that when the louvre blades are fully closed, in which condition the blades are slightly inclined from a vertical position, assuming the mullions to be vertical, the aperture 21 above each pivot 16 is parallel to the adjacent weather bead 15 and directly behind it while the aperture 21 below each pivot 16 is parallel to the adjacent weather bead 15 and directly in front of it.

Each clip 13 is provided with two resilient members 23 which are located in the interior of the clips, between the end faces 22 and the ends of the blades and which protrude through the apertures 21. The members 23 illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3 are composed of a central core 24 having a pile of fibres 25 of nylon or other suitable material radiating out therefrom. The bulk of the member fills the space between the end face 22 and the end of the blade 12 while those fibres 25 which protrude form a weather head which engages with the weather head 15 as indicated in Figure 2 when the blade is fully closed. Thus the resilient members 23 provide for sealing the space between the clips and the mullions against ingress of moisture and they also provide a seal to prevent or minimise the ingress of moisture between the clips and the louvre blades which they engage.

Figures 4 and 5 of the drawings show a slight modification wherein the resilient members 23 comprise suitable lengths of pile strip comprising a fabric tape 26 with fibres 27 of nylon or other suitable material, the tape being folded over so that the fibres 27 project from both sides. With such members the fibres 27 at one side bear against the edge of the louvre blade while some or all of them at the other side project through the apertures 21 and engage the weather bead 15 when the blade is closed.

The resilient members 23 of Figures 1 to 3 and Figures 4 and 5 may be formed of a single piece of pile strip which extends from one of the apertures 21 behind the pivot 16 to the other aperture 21.

Figures 6 and 7 show further modifications wherein the members 23 comprise lengths of extruded or moulded resilient material such as rubber, polyvinyl chloride, or other suitable material. In each of these constructions the protruding section of the member 23 has flanges 28 which engage against the edges of the apertures 21.

The upper In Figure 6 the member 23 has ribs 29 which engage the end of the blade while in Figure 7 the member 23' is hollow and is flattened somewhat by the blade.

The invention has been describedwith reference tolouvres in which the clips are pivoted intermediate of their ends but it is also applicable to those in which the clips are pivoted at their ends or about points out of the plane of the blade which they carry. In such cases only one aperture and one resilient member may be needed for each clip and the mullion weather beads may be displaced from the line running through the centres of the pivots.

I claim:

1. In a louvre window assembly, the combination of a mullion having a ridge thereon, a plurality of clips pivotally mounted on said mullion, each clip having an elongated aperture therein on the side toward said mullion, a compressible and resilient weather strip in each clip projecting through said aperture toward said mullion for engagement with said ridge, and louvres clipped in each clip and fitted against said weather strip.

2. The combination as claimed in claim 1 in which said ridge is aligned with the pivotal mountings of said clips and said apertures are inclined to the plane of said 4 louvres, whereby when the louvres are fully closed the apertures are parallel to and adjacent said ridge.

3. The combination as claimed in claim 1 in which said weather strip comprises a central core having a pile of fibers radiating therefrom, said core being in each of said clips with a portion of said fibers projecting through said apertures.

4. The combination as claimed in claim I in which said weather strip is a double-sided pile strip comprising a tape having fibers projecting from each side thereof, said tape being positioned within each of said clips with the fibers on one side thereof projecting through said apertures.

5-. The combination as claimed in claim 1 in which each of'said weather strips is a length of formed resilient material, a portion of which projects through said apertures.

References Cited in the file of this patent V UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,386,380 Andresen et al. Oct. 9, 1945 2,654,921 Blanchard Oct. 13, 1953 2,760,242 Armstrong Aug. 28, 1956 2,805,741 Evans et a1 Sept. 10, 1957 

